Course Content I – Building Content & Working with Text

Give some consideration to the overall site design and method of organization for your course before adding the first content (see the section concerning Recommended Course Set-Up for details). After that, the next step in building your course is establishing one or more course areas in which to present course content.

Creating Course Areas for Content A course area can be a content area, learning module, or content folder. Create the three types of course areas as follows.

• Content Area: Content areas are top-level course areas that are created and managed from the course menu. They can contain files, other content pages, folders, images, web links, learning modules, syllabi, and other course elements. To create a content area, click the “Add” button, represented by a plus (+) sign, at the top of the course menu. Choose “Content Area” from the drop-down menu that appears, and provide a name for the content area.

• Learning Modules and Content Folders: To add a learning module or content folder, navigate to the existing content area (e.g. the “Course Information” page) that will house the module. Click the “Build Content” button at the top of the content area and select “Learning Module” or “Content Folder” from the drop-down menu that appears. Provide a name for the learning module and specify any other important details before clicking “Submit.”

Building Content Some types of content can be created directly in the course menu. For example, click the “Add” button at the top of the course menu and select the appropriate title to create a new blank page or module page, complete with a link on the course menu. Most other types of course content must be created inside of an existing content area (e.g. the Course Information page) by clicking the “Build Content” button at the top of the editable page. If you don’t see the “Build Content” button, ensure that you are in Edit Mode. If you don’t see the words “Edit Mode is ON” in the upper right corner of the course window, click the “ON/OFF” button to toggle modes. The “Build Content” button produces a drop-down menu that offers the opportunity to build the following content types using a self-explanatory dialog.

Create Content (Item)

Item An item can be any type of file, text, image, or link that appears in a Content Area, Learning Module, Lesson Plan, or Content Folder.

• Content Information: Provide a name and description for the item and choose the text color for the title.

• Attachments: Attach any type of item from the local computer or Content Collection. • Options: Make the item visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be

available.

File A file is used to make content viewable as a page within the UNM Learn Course or as a separate piece of content in a separate browser window.

• Select File: Attach a file from the local computer or Content Collection, give it a name, and set it to open in a new window if desired.

• Options: Make the item visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be available.

Image An image can be added to any content area by following these steps inside the add-content dialog:

• Select Image File: Upload the image (from the local computer, content collection, or from mashups), give it a name, and set any alternate description for the image.

• Image Options: Alter the image dimensions, adjust the border thickness, enter a URL for the image (if linking instead of uploading), and set it to open in a new window.

• Standard Options: Make the image visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be available.

Web Link A web link points students toward an outside resource on the World Wide Web.

• Web Link Information: Enter the URL of the link and give it a name. • Description: Enter a description for the web link. • Attachments: Attach any type of item here from the local computer or Content Collection. • Options: Make the item visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be

available.

Learning Module Learning modules are collections of content items structured around a specific subject that students can navigate through one at a time. A Learning Module can be used to separate course assignments, quizzes, and other information into weekly lessons. A Learning Module Page named “Week 1,” for example, could contain the Week 1 homework, PowerPoint slides, and quiz. This helps keep all the information for a week in one convenient place.

• Learning Module Information: Provide a name and description for the learning module. • Availability: Make the image visible and set dates when it will be available. • View: Dictate whether or not students must view the components of the learning module in

sequence, set the learning module to open in a new window, and track the number of views. • Table of Contents: Set visibility and style of display for the learning module’s table of contents.

Syllabus A syllabus can be added to a content area in one of two ways. You can build the syllabus within Learn, allowing it to be displayed full-size within the content area, or upload a pre-existing file which will open in a desktop application. However, Anderson School of Management instructors are requested to use the provided Common Course Syllabus Template.dot to develop their syllabi. Save the resulting MS Word file in either .doc or .pdf format, and choose “Use Existing File” to upload it within the “Build Content” dialog. Give the syllabus a name before submitting.

Course Link A course link is a shortcut to any area, tool, or item within the UNM Learn Course. Course links are especially useful for assignments and assessments, since these are expected to be both well organized and easily accessible at once. For example, you can house assignments within Learning Modules composed of relevant lessons, but create course links to those assignments elsewhere in the course (e.g. inside a dedicated “Assignments” folder accessible via the course menu).

• Course Link Information: Select the item to which the link redirects, give the link a name, and provide a description.

• Options: Make the item visible and set dates when it will be available.

Content Package (SCORM) A SCORM Content Package is a particular type of compressed file that is formatted specifically for seamless import into Blackboard Learn and other learning management systems. It is a very specialized file type that few instructors ever have the need to work with.

Content Folder A content folder organizes content and reduces the need to scroll through sprawling course areas.

• Content Folder Information: Name the folder and provide a description. • Options: Make the folder visible and set dates when it will be available.

Module Page A module page inside of a UNM Learn course presents information similar to that seen on the Notifications tab of the “My Learn” home page, except limited to one course. The “Course Dashboard” is an example of a module page. You can create module pages inside of content areas or directly on the Course Menu.

• Module Page Information: Name the module page and provide a description. • Page Type: Dictate whether users can personalize the module page by reordering and/or hiding

modules. • Options: Make the item visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be

available.

Blank Pages A Blank Page can be used to display information about a specific topic or assignment. You can create Blank Pages inside of folders or directly on the Course Menu.

• Content: Enter content to be featured. • Attachments: Attach any type of item here from the local computer or Content Collection. • Options: Make the item visible, track the number of views, and set dates when it will be

available.

Mashups Mashups are combinations of external resources that deal with a shared subject. Content for a mashup comes in the form of photos published on Flickr, presentations published on SlideShare, and videos published on YouTube. The interface for adding a mashup is essentially a search bar tool for the site of the mashup type. However, as you will discover the first time you attempt to use the tool, the mashup-oriented search is extremely limited, and does not return the range of videos, photos, or presentations that one would encounter by doing the same search at the source. For this reason, we cannot recommend the use of mashups at this time.

Working with File Attachments File attachments may be added to various objects throughout a course, such as content items, assignments, or discussion board posts. Blackboard Learn recognizes all of the following file types:

Extension File Type Programs associated with the File Type aam Multimedia Adobe® Authorware® plug-in. The AAM file is the starting point for a

series of files that must be enclosed in a ZIP file.

aiff Audio Audio media player

asf Multimedia Microsoft® .NET™ Show

au Audio Real Audio Player™

avi Video Video player (not Macintosh® compatible)

doc Text Microsoft® Word or other word processor

exe Executable Executable file

gif Image Graphics program or web browser

html, htm Web page HTML editor or web browser

jpg, jpeg Image Graphics program or web browser

jif Image Graphics program or web browser

mp3 Audio Audio media player

mpe Audio/Video Audio media player

mpg, mpeg Audio/Video Audio media player

moov,movie Movie QuickTime® movie player

mov Video Movie or media player

pdf Text Adobe® Acrobat® Reader

png Image Portable Network Graphics

ppt, pps Slideshow Microsoft® PowerPoint® and PowerPoint® Player®

qt Movie QuickTime™

ra Audio Real Audio Player™

ram Video Real Audio Movie™

rm Audio Audio media player

rtf Text Rich Text Format

swf Multimedia Adobe® Shockwave® plug-in

tiff, tif Image Graphics program or web browser

txt Text Text or HTML editor, word processor

wav Audio Audio media player

wma Audio Audio media player

wmf Graphic Microsoft® Windows®

wmv Video Microsoft® Windows®

wpd Text WordPerfect® or other word processor

xls Spreadsheet Microsoft® Excel®

zip Text WinZip®

“Browse My Computer” vs. “Browse Content Collection” Provide attachments either by uploading them directly from your local machine (“Browse My Computer”) or by choosing them from the course repository (“Browse Content Collection”). We strongly

recommend the use of the Content Collection for two reasons. When you click “Browse Content Collection,” you are not restricted to choosing among items already in the Content Collection. It is just as easy to upload a file from your PC in the process of browsing the Content Collection – simply click the Upload vs. the Browse tab. The other reason is that when you choose “Browse My Computer,” you not only upload files to a single location in the course as expected; this action automatically uploads to the Content Collection at the same time. This means that attaching the same file to various objects in the course via “Browse My Computer” will result in multiple copies of that file accumulating in the Content Collection. Please also see Best Practice: Attaching Files1 at the Blackboard, Inc. web site for the answers to frequently asked questions about the use of the Content Collection.

Working with Text Users have many options for formatting text and displaying images and files to suit their purposes. Learn’s content editor can be used without any knowledge of HTML, but experienced users can also format content pages using HTML code.

Using the Content Editor The content editor is your tool to add and format text, insert equations, hyperlinks, and tables, and upload files, throughout the Learn environment. The editor may be viewed in simple or advanced mode.

Simple Mode

Advanced Mode

While simple mode offers only the most used formatting functions, the advanced mode will include every available formatting and attachment function. Functions not currently available appear grayed out. For example, the functions to apply or remove a hyperlink are available only when you select text or an object in the text.

A user can switch from simple mode to advanced mode by clicking the downward or upward facing double arrow buttons in the top right corner of the editor. Clicking the downward facing arrows will 1 https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_SP_10_and_SP_11/Instructor/060_Course_Content/Best_Practice_Attaching_Files

expand the editor into advanced mode, while clicking the upward facing arrows will hide all but the most basic editor functions.

Content Editor Features The icons shown in the table below represent the functions described in the adjacent column. The functions below are available in the advanced mode of the content editor.

Icon Function

Bold the selected text.

Italicize the selected text.

Underline the selected text.

Display text with a horizontal line through the letters (strikethrough).

Select a paragraph style for the text. Click the down arrow next to the displayed current style to select from a list of all available styles.

Select the font face for the text. Click the down arrow next to the displayed current font to select from a list of all available fonts.

Select the size of the text. Click the down arrow to select from a list of all available font sizes.

Create a bulleted list.

Create a numbered list.

Set the text color. Click the down arrow to select a different text color.

Set the text highlight (background) color. Click the down arrow to select a different highlight color.

Remove all formatting, leaving only the plain text.

Opens a preview window showing how the content will appear after submitting.

Opens the context editor help window.

Expand the content editor window to fill the entire browser frame.

Collapse functions to one row of the most used text formatting functions.

Cut the selected items.

Copy the selected items.

Paste the most recently copied or cut items.

Search for and replace text.

Undo the previous action.

Redo the previous action—available only if an action has been undone.

Align text to the left margin.

Align text in the center.

Align text to the right.

Align text to both the left and right margins.

Move the text or object to the right (indent). Click again to indent further.

Move the text or object to the left (outdent). Click again to outdent further. You cannot outdent text beyond the left margin.

Make the text into a superscript.

Make the text into a subscript.

Add a new or edit an existing hyperlink. To learn more, see Using the Link Function.

Remove a hyperlink from the selected text or object.

Enter text to the right of the current mouse pointer location (default).

Enter text to the left of the current mouse pointer location.

Add a thin horizontal line to the current mouse pointer position, spanning the entire width of the text area.

Add a thin centered line, setting width, height relative to the current mouse pointer position, and whether to use shadows. To learn more, see Inserting Lines and Horizontal Rules.

Insert a nonbreaking space character at the current mouse pointer position.

Begin the automatic spell check. Click the down arrow to select a different language.

Add a link to a file in the text box. The Insert Content Link window appears. You can link to the following file types: DOC, DOCX, EXE, HTML, HTM, PDF, PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX, TXT, WPD, .XLS, XLSX, and ZIP. You can link to a file from your computer, from Course Files, the Content Collection, or a URL.

Embed an image in the text box or edit an existing selected image. The Insert/Edit Image window appears. You can add the following file types: GIF, JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and TIF. You can add images from your computer, from Course Files or the Content Collection, or a URL. To learn more, see Adding Images.

Embed a media clip in the text box or edit an existing selected media object. The Insert/Edit Media window appears. From the Type drop-down list, select the type of media you want to add: Flash (default), HTML 5 video, QuickTime, Shockwave, Windows Media, Real Media, lframe, or Embedded Audio. You can add media files from your computer, from Course Files or the Content Collection, or a URL. To learn more, see Adding Audio or Video.

Opens the WIRIS Formula Editor page—the visual math equation editor page. To learn more, see Using the Math Editor.

Add a mashup. To learn more, see Mashups.

Click to show all nonprinting characters. Click again to hide them from view.

Format the text as a blockquote.

Opens the Select Special Character window. Select a symbol to insert at the current mouse pointer position.

Opens the Insert Emoticon window. Select the emoticon to insert at the current mouse pointer position.

Position the mouse pointer where you want the anchor to appear and click to open the Insert/Edit Anchor window. Use anchors to position other items, such as images. To learn more, see Using Anchors.

Click to open the Insert/Edit Table window. To learn more about tables, see Working With Tables.

Click to open the Table Row Properties window.

Click to open the Table Cell Properties window.

Insert a blank row in the table above the current mouse pointer position.

Insert a blank row in the table after the current mouse pointer position.

Delete the current row from the table. If you select multiple rows, all are deleted.

Insert a blank column in the table to the left of the current mouse pointer position.

Insert a blank column in the table to the right of the current mouse pointer position.

Delete the current column from the table. If you select multiple columns, all are deleted.

Merge two or more selected table cells into a single cell.

Split previously merged table cells. If the cell or cells are not ones that were merged, nothing happens.

Click to open the HTML Code View window. Then, you can directly edit the content HTML code. This feature is intended for experienced web developers. To learn more, see HTML Code View.

Edit the cascading style sheet (CSS). This feature is included for experienced web developers. To learn more, see Advanced Image Settings.

Selected Content Editing Tasks Blackboard, Inc. has provided detailed instructions for the use of specific content editor features at its web site. Many operate in a fashion similar to familiar word-processing applications, so we will not focus on these at length. However, certain content-editing tasks are less intuitive, meriting a step-by-step demonstration of their execution.

Adjusting Space between Bulleted or Numbered Items A user can easily increase the amount of space between bulleted or numbered items. This can be done in the default view or HTML code view. (Although HTML code view allows for some fine-tuning not possible elsewhere, most users will find the default view easiest to work with.) By default, bulleted and numbered lists have the same spacing as lines in a paragraph. To change this, once the list has been created, place the mouse pointer at the end of each bulleted or numbered line and press the keys SHIFT + ENTER together. This adds a full line between

each list item. If you continue to click this key combination, additional lines are added. More precise modifications to line spacing must be done in the HTML viewer. (See Blackboard, Inc.’s instructions regarding the use of HTML code to adjust spacing at Blackboard Help: Using the Content Editor.)

Adding and Editing Hyperlinks Select text or an object, and click the link icon ( ) to add a new hyperlink or to edit an existing hyperlink. To remove a link, select the link and click the remove link icon ( ). Links can also be added and removed by right-clicking on the text or object and selecting link or unlink. Unless text or an object is selected, the insert/edit link and remove link functions are unavailable. Users may specify a link to a computer file, website, course file, or the content collection. If linking to a website, the http:// protocol must be used when typing or pasting an address for the link.

The Target drop-down menu allows you to choose where the link will open: In the same window, in a new window, in the parent window, or in the top window/frame, replacing all current frames. Optionally, you may enter a title for the link that users will see when viewing it.

Insert\Edit Hyperlink Link Dialogue

Inserting Lines and Horizontal Rules Click the line icon ( ) to add a thin horizontal line, spanning the entire width of the text area, to the current mouse pointer position. Click the horizontal rule function ( ) to add a thin centered line. You can set width in pixels or as a percentage of the available width of the text area, height of the line, and shading of the line. Use the Width drop-down list to choose pixels or percentage. Use the Height drop-down list to choose “Normal” or a height increment from 1 to 5. Click Insert to add the line or Cancel to close the window without making changes.

Adding Images To add an image in the text area or edit a selected existing image, click the insert/edit image icon ( ), either in the formatting toolbar or in the context menu that appears upon right-click within the Content Editor window. The following common image types are acceptable: GIF, JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and TIF.

However, compact, compressed file formats such as JPG or PNG are recommended to reduce loading time for the embedded image.

General Image Settings The General tab of the Insert/Edit Image interface is where you choose the image to be embedded on the page. You will specify the image by its location, either by pasting the Internet URL where it appears or by providing the path to the image file on your local machine (“Browse My Computer”) or in the course repository (“Browse Content Collection”). (For reasons explained in Working with File Attachments, we recommend using the Content Collection rather than browsing the local computer directly.) Providing a title and description for the image will help readers with accessibility issues.

Appearance Settings Modify image placement and appearance using the Appearance tab. Images can be configured in the following ways:

Appearance Settings

• Alignment: Placement of the image relative to nearby text. See changes to alignment as you make them in the image preview box at the right of the dialog window.

• Dimensions: Image size displayed in pixels. If dimensions are not set, the image will be displayed at its original, full size.

• Constrain Proportions: Prevents horizontal or vertical distortion when resizing. • Vertical space: Margin reserved above and below the image (measured in pixels). • Horizontal space: Margin reserved on either side of the image (measured in pixels). • Border: Applies a border around the image in the thickness specified in pixels. • Style: This field displays the HTML code used to format the image when a change is made. Advanced

users can edit the code by hand.

Advanced Image Settings The advanced image settings can be used to specify an alternate image based on mouse activity as well as set additional identification, language, and link parameters. These settings are for advanced users only, and do not normally need to be altered.

Advanced Image Settings

Adding Audio or Video Click on the insert/edit media icon ( ) to add an audio or video clip, or to edit an existing clip. Acceptable formats include: Flash, QuickTime, Shockwave, Windows Media, Real Media, Iframe, and Embedded Audio.

General Media Settings Under the General tab of the Insert/Edit Embedded Media interface, select the media type from the drop-down menu. If you are simply linking to a video clip or other media file published elsewhere on the Internet, paste the URL of the clip into the “File/URL” field, making sure that the URL begins with http://. (If you initially receive an error message upon clicking insert, re-select a media type – the selection will reset to Iframe, and a placeholder for the video will appear in the preview window.) If embedding a non-published media file, browse for it on your local machine (“Browse My Computer”) or in the course repository (“Browse Content Collection”). (For reasons explained in Working with File Attachments, we recommend using the Content Collection rather than browsing the local computer directly.)

General Media Settings

Advanced Media Settings You can set advanced display parameters for media files as well as specific options for Flash media under the Advanced tab. Media files can be configured in the following ways:

• ID: Identification code for the media clip. • Align: Placement of the media display relative to other content • Name: Title of the media clip. • Background: Color of background that appears behind the clip. • V-Space: Margin reserved above and below the clip (measured in pixels • H-Space: Margin reserved on either side of the clip (measured in pixels).

Advanced Media Settings

Flash Options – only applicable to clips of the Flash media type:

• Quality: Playback quality for the Flash media. • WMode: Display mode for the media. • Auto Play: Whether or not the Flash media plays automatically. • Show Menu: Whether or not to show the Flash media player menu. • Base and FlashVars: Manual configuration of Flash options (intended for advanced web

developers only).

Formatting HTML Content Users with advanced knowledge of HTML code may use HTML formatting to edit content. HTML code for the content currently being edited is accessible by clicking the HTML code view icon ( ). This will open a pop-up frame with the current HTML code. The code can be edited within the resulting pop-up window. Clicking “Update” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window will apply any changes to the code.

Specialized Content Editing Tasks For demonstration of more specialized content editing tasks, please refer to the Blackboard, Inc. website.2 There you will find examples of adding media files, adding “mashups,” using the math editor, working with tables, using anchors, HTML code view, using the right-click/context menu, and a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts for the content editor.

2 https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_SP_10_and_SP_11/Instructor/010_Blackboard_Learn_Environment/002_Working_with_Text/001_Using_the_Content_Editor